Consumers' Associations from 22 cities in China have jointly issued a public letter to food and beverage service providers across the country, stating that it is their obligation to provide disinfected tableware at no charge to consumers.
In the letter, the consumers' associations say that many restaurants and hotels are charging consumers for the disinfection of tableware, including disposable utensils, napkins, and chopsticks. Some of them even mark the price of the disinfection on the tableware and this leads to customer dissatisfaction. The consumers' associations point out that when consumers eat in a hotel or restaurant, the price they pay not only cover the food but also the service: including disinfection. Therefore, it is against the principle of fairness and goes against some relevant laws if they charge an additional disinfection fee to consumers even though they advise the consumers that a fee is charged.
The 22 consumers' associations believe that food service providers are not entitled to charge any additional fees in addition to the price of food to consumers.
